HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s minimum wage has risen to $15.70 per hour. This is the first of two hikes this year as it’ll be raised to $16.50 per hour on October 1. So far, Restaurants Canada says this increase hasn’t come with real measures to help the industry, posing significant challenges for foodservice businesses and threaten the job stability of the 32,000 Nova Scotian’s they employ.
Although welcomed, Restaurants Canada doesn’t believe that the HST reduction of one per cent will have much impact on the industry. However, removing the HST permanently off restaurant meals entirely would be beneficial. The organization continues to advocate for this as its seen success with the HST holiday of last winter. Recently, Restaurants Canada published a news release calling on federal parties to include this in their platforms as a way to protect jobs and affordability in the face of U.S. tariffs.
The organization will continue to remind government that the foodservice industry is responsible for 4.7 per cent of Nova Scotia’s GDP and is a significant contributor to the tourism product of the province.
While Restaurants Canada was pleased the government delivered on its promise to reduce the small business tax rate by one per cent and to raise the threshold from $500,000 to $700,000, more needs to be done.
With RANS, Restaurants Canada has been advocating for two measures that could help the industry absorb these added costs:
- Creating a minimum wage subsidy program to help employers transition, as was successfully done in Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador previously.
- Expanding wholesale discounts on alcohol and ensuring that Nova Scotia’s restaurants and bars don’t pay more for the same alcoholic products than their peers operating elsewhere in Canada.
